Tempo De Ritorna
by Galadriel Gryffindor
Summary: Ten years after Meteor, a long-missing Cloud returns and AVALANCHE reunites to fight a last evil remnant of Shinra they had thought dead.
1. Return

Tempo De Ritorna

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy 7 and all related characters and places are the property of Squaresoft. The author owns only the plot of this story. Reviews and constructive criticisms are always welcome, but please take it easy on the flames, we're all friends here.

Chapter One

Return

_It's strange how time can fly, Vincent Valentine thought to himself. He looked at the PHS in his hand again, replaying the conversation in his mind._

_"We're having an AVALANCHE reunion!" Tifa Lockheart's voice had said cheerily over the line. "Back at my bar in Nibelheim!"_

_"When?" had been Vincent's one-word answer._

_"Two weeks," she replied. "I've been calling everyone, and they'll be coming."_

_"Cloud as well?" asked Vincent._

_Tifa__ was silent for a moment. "I hope so. He didn't answer when I called him, but I left the invitation on his PHS. I guess we'll find out when the party starts."_

Vincent had promised to attend, and they had hung up shortly after. He would not have cared ordinarily to go to a reunion, but obviously, Tifa and the others still had not discovered what had become of Cloud after the destruction of Meteor ten years ago. He had told them he was going to look for a way to bring Aeris back to them. The mercenary had kept in touch for a while, but had suddenly gone silent after a year. The other had searched, but to no avail. No trace of him had been found.

But Vincent knew. And knowing what he did, he felt that it was better that he go to Nibelheim to tell them in person.

The year after Meteor, Vincent had met Cloud in Junon. It had been a chance meeting, Cloud replenishing his supplies, Vincent simply making a stop during his wanderings. If Vincent had been his old self, he might had enjoyed the encounter immensely, but he had at least found the time pleasant. The two of them were preparing to part ways again when it happened.

***

_Vincent was moving stealthily away from the bar when he heard the sounds of a battle. Reversing his step, he leapt silently onto a low roof and backtracked to where he had left Cloud._

_The wild-haired warrior was trapped in the middle of a crowd of thugs in blue. Turks, or at least men who were trying to be. Vincent noted with something akin to contempt that most of them were amateurs and that even the professionals of the group were mediocre at best._

_Cloud was making short work of them, the Ultima Weapon a shining arc in the dark night. Meaning to help, Vincent whipped out his gun. He took out several of the would-be Turks before one who was smarter than the others grabbed hold of a female bystander who had been attempting to get her child to safety. He had demanded that Cloud surrender, or he would kill both the mother and the child._

_Vincent leveled his gun, but the hostages were in the way._

_"All right," Cloud said._

_He lowered the sword. One of the blue suits stepped forward to take it from him, but Cloud suddenly whirled and threw the Ultima Weapon to Vincent._

_"Get it out of here!" he shouted._

_Vincent nodded once and leapt away, carrying the huge sword with him. He could hear shouted orders behind him, to take Cloud and find the man with his sword. Running footsteps pounded the streets in search of him, but Vincent had been the finest Turk of his time, well-versed in the arts of stealth. He lost all of his pursuers within a few blocks. Finding a dark corner on a roof, Vincent stopped for a few moments to analyze what had happened. As he reloaded his gun, he noticed a small piece of paper sticking out of the wrappings on the Ultima Weapon's hilt. He plucked it loose and moved to a small patch of light on the roof, an eerie yellow circle cast by a streetlamp._

_Vincent,_

_I hope that you won't have to read this, but if you do, I must ask you to do some things for me. I expect to be attacked tonight, and if I should be taken, you must take the Ultima Weapon and protect it. Go to my room at the Junon Inn quickly and take my pack. You will find my reserve PHS in it with a message. It has been coded, but you will know the password. Follow the instructions in the message._

_Cloud_

_Vincent traveled over the rooftops to the inn. Cloud had mentioned that his room was the corner one on the top floor of the inn. Vincent climbed in through the window, found the backpack, then quickly left again._

_He found a secluded roof some distance away and took out the PHS. He turned it on, and a puzzle flashed onto the screen. It was a replica of one that had been found at an archaeological dig at an old Cetra settlement. Vincent had studied the difficult riddle many years ago, though few save historians had, and knew the answer. He entered the code and Cloud's image appeared on the screen._

_"I hope that it you are hearing this message that you are a member of the resistance group AVALANCHE. In the previous year after the destruction of Meteor, I have been on a quest to restore our friend Aeris. I have not found one. But during the course of my search, I have discovered that an old enemy we thought destroyed is still alive and dangerous._

_"When we went into Midgar to stop Hojo from firing the Sister Ray at the Northern Crater, we thought we destroyed him. But as I traveled alone on my quest, I have been followed and attacked by men dressed as Turks, though not nearly as skilled. I interrogated several of my attackers and found that they are working for Hojo and were ordered to capture me and take me to him. After tracking some of the false Turks to a hideout, I found out that the Hojo we fought at the Mako cannon was a clone, a puppet controlled by the real Hojo._

_"What he wants with me, I'm not certain. All I can say for now is that the other members of AVALANCHE must not look for me. They must not put themselves in a position in which they will be vulnerable to him. He thinks that I no longer care about the fates of my friends because I have been away from them for so long, and he must not be allowed to thin otherwise. It is the only way to protect them from him. Vincent especially must keep away, as it had com to my attention that Hojo wants him back too. I realize that this will be difficult, but you must trust me._

_"Don't tell the others I'm gone. There is a key in my backpack. Go to the train station in the rebuilt section of Midgar and find the lock that is marked for the key. Inside you will find further instructions. Take the Ultima Weapon to the place indicated and leave it there. I'll come back if I can."_

_Vincent, who had long though that emotion was dead in him, burned with cold fury. So the bastard Hojo was still alive. The man responsible for Lucrecia's death, and ultimately, Sephiroth's evil. Now he had Cloud and there was nothing Vincent could do._

_***_

_Vincent went to Midgar and found the place. It was been an underground bunker in one of the wrecked slums of the city. The furnishings had been Spartan, a bunk, kitchen apparatus, small bathroom. A small closet revealed extra clothes and armor and a small locked box. Vincent put Cloud's backpack in the closet, then moved his hand along the inside of the closet, looking for the switch Cloud had written about._

_He found the button, pressed it, and a panel on the wall opposite slid open to reveal an impressive collection of weapons and materia. Zack's Buster Sword and the Ragnarok hung there along with all the other swords Cloud had used during their fight for the planet. There was an empty place for another sword. Vincent put the Ultima Weapon there and closed the panel._

_Lastly, he took out Cloud's spare PHS and set it to the private frequency on his own. He set the device on the bed, and with a last look around, left the bunker._

***

That had been nine years ago. The other members of AVALANCHE had searched for Cloud, but to no avail. Per Cloud's instructions, Vincent never told them what had happened in Junon that night. Inwardly, Vincent hoped that one day, the PHS would ring from the bunker in Midgar, but it never did. He had even gone back there every so often, but only to find the place exactly as he had left it.

Was Cloud alive? Who could say? Vincent wished he knew, one way or the other. He had kept Cloud's secret, but it was difficult not to search, just as Cloud had said. His own past with Hojo made him long to find the scientist and make him pay for what he had done. And keeping the secret from the others while watching there fear for their missing friend was even harder. He knew that he would have to tell them someday, but what could he say?

Two weeks, Tifa had said. Well, there was enough time to check the bunker again.

***

Several days later, a figure in a tattered cloak made its way into the silent Midgar slums It moved furtively through the blackened wreckage, down a manhole, and underground to a sealed door. A gloved hand produced a key, which was pushed into a keyhole disguised to look like a crack in the wall.

The door opened with a hiss, and the cloaked figure stepped inside. It pressed a button on the inside wall to close the door and turned to find itself staring down the barrel of a large handgun.

"Vincent?"

The gun lowered slightly. The figure's gloved hand moved slowly to unclasp the ragged cloak. It fell away to reveal a head of wild blond hair.

"Cloud," Vincent said, lowering his weapon. Both released held breaths, looking at each other with relief.

"It's good to see you," Cloud said.

"Where have you been?" asked Vincent.

"Long story," Cloud answered tiredly. "Are the others well?"

"Yes."

"Good." Cloud glanced around the bunker. "We will be fighting again soon. Everyone will be needed."

"What's going on?" Vincent asked.

Cloud's one-word answer was all Vincent needed to hear. "Hojo."

***

Vincent sat by patiently as Cloud cleaned himself up. He had obviously been fighting, as his clothes were badly torn and filthy. But a long shower and a change of clothes later, he was again the mercenary Vincent remembered.

_The years haven't touched him, Vincent thought. __No more than they touch me._

"We can't stay here," Cloud said. He finished lacing up a boot and reached for a roll of athletic tape to wrap his hands. "Those fake Turks are still chasing me. I don't want them to find this place before I can get my stuff out."

"Tifa and the others are meeting for reunion in a week at her bar in Nibelheim," Vincent said. "We can talk to them then. They've been worried."

"I would have returned sooner if I could have," said Cloud. "But I wasn't able to escape until a week ago. Does Barret still live in Kalm?"

"No. He moved back to North Corel, but he is there now. They still have a summer cottage there."

"I'll call him and ask him to get my weapons out of here." Cloud finished taping his hands and moved to the closet. He took out the backpack and the locked box. "Where are the others now?"

"Yuffie, Cid and Nanaki are all at their homes."

Cloud stuffed some things into his bag. "Reeve?"

"He lives in the reconstructed section of Midgar, but Tifa told me that he's in Junon right now and will be going to Nibelheim from there."

Cloud opened the box, removing three items, a wad of gil, a framed photo of the AVALANCHE team, and a small black box. The first two went into the bag.

"How's Tifa?" Cloud asked, opening the box. Vincent saw a pair of earrings and a ring before Cloud snapped it shut again and packed it.

"Lonely," Vincent answered. "She's missed you. AVALANCHE has missed you."

Cloud smiled gently. "Not for much longer, I hope." He became serious again. "Have you found what you were looking for?"

"No," Vincent replied. He gazed at Cloud thoughtfully. "Did you?"

"No," Cloud replied. "But I-" His voice choked off as a searing pain shot through his chest, taking his breath. Vincent jumped to his feet.

"What is it?!"

Cloud was silent for several seconds, the glowing Mako eyes closed against the pain. When it faded, he looked up into Vincent's ruby glance, and the former Turk saw something there that he recognized. Vincent had borne his share of suffering during his long life, and he knew the look well. Cloud bore his pain as though he were used to it, and that disconcerted Vincent, for even during all the trials of Sephiroth and Meteor, he had never seen that expression in the mercenary.

"What did he do to you?" he asked.

"I don't know," Cloud said after a few moments. "But I will soon." He got up carefully, put on his gloves, then opened the hidden panel in the wall. He gazed at the arsenal as though it were an old friend and took the Ultima Weapon from its place. Vincent thought he heard a slight singing sound from the blade as Cloud's hand touched it. Cloud chose his armor and materia and hid them under a long hooded coat which he took from the closet. He strapped the huge sword to his back and picked up his gear.

"Time to go," he said.

They left the bunker. Cloud hid the key for Barret, and the two men made their way above ground.

"I'll be in Nibelheim in a week," Cloud promised. "Be careful, Vincent. He still wants you."

Vincent nodded, and they walked away in different directions.

***

A knock on the door made Dr. Lambert glance up from his work.

A patient? he thought. Probably nothing too worrisome, though. Mideel was a quiet town, hardly anything ever happened there. The last big uproar the town had seen had been ten years ago when the place had been demolished by the Weapon.

The doctor stood up and went to the door, expecting to find a villager with a cold. Instead, he found a wild-haired man with a huge sword. Dr. Lambert started slightly, but relaxed. He remembered this man.

"I don't know if you remember me," Cloud said. "But I was here ten years ago."

"Of course I remember you," Dr. Lambert said. "You washed up ashore with extreme Mako poisoning. I was amazed that you survived. How have you been?"

"I'm not sure," Cloud replied. "I came back because you examined me then. I've been through…many things since I was last here. I would like to have your opinion now."

"Certainly," said the doctor.

***

"How did this happen?" Lambert asked a short while later. His voice was hard.

Cloud was sitting on the edge of a hospital bed, pulling on his shirt. "Experiments."

The doctor was skimming his notes on Cloud's examination. "By whom?"

"It's better that you don't know. Let's just say that he didn't ask me first. How does it look?"

"I think you know," Lambert said.

"I'd guessed."

"Whoever did this can't be allowed to continue," Lambert went on.

"He won't be," Cloud told him. "I'll see to that." He pulled on his gloves and stood.

"You're leaving?" asked the doctor.

"Yes. Thank you for your help."

"You're welcome. Take care, young man. Good luck."


	2. Meeting Again

Chapter Two

Meeting Again

_Some crowd tonight, Tifa Lockheart thought, glancing around the bar._

"Hey Tifa! How 'bout another beer?"

"Coming up!" she called. She filled a mug and handed it to Stan, the waiter. He was a childhood friend of hers, one of the little group she had run with as a girl. A group that should have included another boy, but somehow never had.

As Stan walked away, she glanced down at the ring on her finger, remembering.

***

_"You're going?" she asked._

_"Yes," Cloud replied._

_"How-," she hesitated. "How long do you think you'll be away?"_

_"I don't know."_

_She didn't know what to say. She had hoped very much that he would stay in Nibelheim with her. There were things she wanted to share with him. She felt tears gathering in her eyes and fought them back._

_"Listen, Tifa-"_

_She looked back at him. He took a ring off his finger, a plain gold band. Taking her hand, he placed it on her palm and closed her fingers over it._

_"This was my mother's," he said. "One of the only things of hers that I have. Watch it for me until I get back, okay?"_

_Blinking away the tears, she smiled at him and nodded._

***

Tifa remembered that Mrs. Strife used to wear the ring on a chain around her neck. She had visited the woman often after Cloud had left for Midgar, despite her father's protestations. Mrs. Strife had given the ring to Cloud before he had gone, saying that it had belonged to her husband. She had told Tifa later that she felt it important that Cloud have something that belonged to both of his parents.

It was strange, but several of the town boys had left soon after Cloud had. Stan had been one of them. _Lucky chance, that, Tifa thought. They would have been killed with the others if they had stayed. A few, like Stan, had wandered back after a while._

Tifa's feelings toward Stan and the other boys were ambiguous now. She had changed a good deal since those childhood days. She remembered the kind of boys they had been with disdain. Cloud had been a favorite target of teasing and taunting at their hands. They had goaded him into fighting a few times, and Tifa had grown angrier at each altercation. Cloud had been a quiet child, hardly bothering anyone and spending most of his free time helping his mother. It wasn't fair that the other boys harassed him all the time. She remembered that he had read a lot, using books to escape the torments of the other children. Tifa had wished she could get to know him better, but somehow the others had always managed to distract her. Then her mother had died, and Cloud was gone for Midgar.

Tifa came to care for him deeply once he had left home. She had learned more about him during her visits to Mrs. Strife. After they had bet again in Midgar, Tifa had been reluctant to be too far from him. Sephiroth and Meteor had brought them closer than they had ever been as children. And Aeris, dear Aeris, had helped her see that she really did love Cloud. Once it was all over, Tifa hoped that she would finally have that chance to tell him. It didn't matter if he really loved Aeris and not her. She would have felt better for him knowing.

But every time she tried, her voice caught in her throat. He'd kept in touch for a while, but the PHS had stopped ringing from him after a year. AVALANCHE had searched, but he had vanished without a trace. No once know if he was well or not, whether he had vanished on purpose or not. It hurt more than she would admit to anyone.

***

Tifa's Seventh Heaven closed late that night, after a boisterous, but profitable, evening.

"Hey Tifa." Stan's voice.

She glanced over at him. He was standing across from her, leaning on the bar, as she was.

"Yes, Stan?" she asked. The message light on her PHS blinked from the inside of the bar. It had been so noisy that night she had not heard it ringing. She picked it up.

"I thought maybe we could go out and do something now we're closed."

Tifa groaned inwardly and tucked a strand of long brown hair behind her ear. Stan had been trying to get her out on a date for ages. She had politely, but steadily, refused.

"I'm sorry, Stan, but it's been a long night and I'm really tired," Tifa told him. She tapped her message password into the PHS and set it on speaker so that she could keep talking.

Stan looked annoyed. "Tifa, you can't wait for Cloud forever. He's gone,  and you might as well-"

He stopped mid-sentence as the PHS message began to play.

"Tifa, this is Cloud."

The color drained from Tifa's face. There was no mistaking that quiet tone.

_Please don't let this be some kind of cruel joke, she thought._

"I got your message about the reunion, and I'm on my way. Hope things are going well for you and the others. See you soon."

Tifa was frozen for several seconds. Then tear began to dance in her as a smile crept across her face. Anger replaced the irritation on Stan's eyes, and he pushed himself off the bar.

"See you later," he mumbled as he went out the door.

"'Night," Tifa replied absently. Snatching the PHS, she locked the restaurant and skipped up to the second floor of the building, where she lived. Going out to the balcony above the back yard, she smiled happily at the night sky as relieved tears traced glittering paths down her cheeks. She pressed the repeat button on the PHS and listened to the message again.

_He's coming back, she thought glancing down at the gold ring on her finger. __He'll be back for you soon._

***

Yuffie Kisaragi, her face an odd shade of green, stumbled off the _Highwind where it had landed just outside Nibelheim near Tifa's bar._

"There must be a better way to travel," she groaned.

"Aw quit yer whinin'," Cid Highwind said, climbing down beside her. "Be glad this ain't the old _Highwind, you'd've really lost yer breakfast then!"_

"It could still use a few improvements," Reeve said, coming down from the airship with Cait Sith behind him. "It still gave me bruises."

"Turbulence," Cid defended.

"Hey! You guys mind helpin' me with the luggage?!" Barret Wallace yelled down to them from the deck.

"I'll help," Nanaki said, lolloping up from the field behind the _Highwind._

They unloaded the airship and carted everything to the Seventh Heaven.

"Guys!" Tifa screeched happily as they entered. She ran out from behind the bar and into a round of hugs from the rest of AVALANCHE.

Gifts were exchanged, eager conversation made. They had hardly changed at all over the last decade. The clothes and circumstances were different of course, as they were all "respectable" now, and Barret was wearing a prosthetic hand instead of a gun. But the looks and personalities were the same as they had always been.

"I never would have thought Barret was such an obsessive packer," Yuffie laughed, fully recovered from her airsickness. "Did you see how much stuff he brought with him?"

"Aw quiet, you," the big man groused good-naturedly. "I figgered I'd better bring extra so I'd still have some after you'd robbed me blind."

Yuffie stuck her tongue out at him.

They stopped at the sound of the door opening. Tifa shot to her feet, as did Barret. Would it be…?

Vincent Valentine stepped into the bar to be engulfed in hugs and handshakes. Though he had always been the most distant person in the little group, no one was about to let him be left out of the good feelings that pervaded the meeting. After quietly answering their questions, he settled into an amiable silence.

Tifa had prepared a picnic lunch. They went out into her backyard where a table had been set up under a tree. They ate and sat around the yard and talked some more. It was just the kind of reunion they al had hoped for, and even Vincent seemed to be quietly enjoying the company.

"So Barret, where are Elmyra and Marlene?" asked Tifa.

"On their way from North Corel," he answered. "I had some business in Midgar and came straight from there."

"What about Shera, Cid?"

"They're stopping in Rocket Town to get her before they come," the pilot replied. "I was in Wutai helping Yuffie's father with the new airship dock, so Elmyra said they would bring her."

Tifa, though thoroughly enjoying herself, kept glancing at the back door of the house. When would he come?

"This is great," Yuffie said. "If only Cloud were here-"

Her words were cut off by a loud crash. They all jumped to their feet, recognizing the sound: a class three lightning attack.

Tifa ran inside to get her gloves, the others close behind her. She was slightly surprised to see them snatching their weapons out of their luggage.

"Old habits," Cid told her, pulling the Venus Gospel free of his belongings.

They were back outside in seconds and dashing towards the source of the sound, in the fields just outside Nibelheim. As they drew closer, Tifa heard the noises of a vicious fight. She poured on the speed, then nearly went flying as she tripped over a knapsack lying on the ground. Vincent recognized it and drew his weapon as he ran ahead.

They found what they were looking for on the other side of a low hill. A big monster, surrounded by five smaller ones, was fighting a man. A man who was carrying a huge and very familiar sword.

They leapt into the fray. Their fighting skills had not left them since their struggle for the planet. Barret and the others attacked the smaller monsters, leaving the swordsman free to concentrate his attention on the big one.

Tifa destroyed the small monster she was fighting and forced her way to the swordsman, calling his name.

"Cloud!"

He was only able to acknowledge her with a quick nod. The large monster was lashing out at him with clawed tentacles, and Cloud was leaping and slashing at it while trying to avoid the. Being careful of the tentacles, Tifa attacked the monster, her fists flying.

Behind her, she could hear their friends gaining the upper hand on the smaller beasts. Cloud was suddenly beside her, speaking tersely.

"The small ones will keep coming back until the big one is dead," he said. "If we kill it, they'll all die."

"Right!" she said.

Tifa renewed her attack on the large monster. Yuffie cried out in dismay as another of the smaller monsters appeared. A flash of green light caught Tifa's eye, and she jumped back from the monster as Cloud attacked with lightning magic before slashing at it again.

"Tifa!" Cloud was suddenly beside her again. One of the tentacles had reared up behind her, ready to strike. Cloud threw them out of the way, but felt the claws slash his back. The tentacles reared up again.

It was just what Cloud needed. He rolled to his feet under the tentacles and dealt the creature a shattering Climbhazard. Somersaulting backward, he landed hard on one knee as the death cries of the monster and its minions shrieked around him.

Vaguely, he could hear his friends cheering behind him. The wounds on his back burned, but he felt cold. His head swam.

"Cloud!" Tifa's voice, calling to him happily. He tried to stand, but his legs felt like water. Closing his eyes and bowing his head, he tried to fight growing dizziness.

"Cloud?!" Tifa again, closer now. She was kneeling on the grass in front of him. He started to shiver as soft hands raised his face. He found himself looking into a pair of lovely wine-colored eyes before darkness swallowed him.

Tifa's heart leapt into her throat as Cloud slumped into her arms. "Help!" she shouted at the others.

Vincent was beside them in an instant, placing his hand on Cloud's forehead. "He's been poisoned," he told the group.

"We have to take him to my house," said Tifa. "I have a cure materia there."

"Here, I'll carry him," Barret said. He went to Tifa and picked Cloud up, careful to avoid the bleeding gashes on his back. "Get his stuff."

They hurried back, Tifa and Yuffie picking up Cloud's sword and backpack, Barret bearing the unconscious mercenary as gently as he would have his daughter.

***

Tifa and Vincent came downstairs to the bar where the rest of the group was waiting.

"How is he?" Yuffie asked.

Tifa's face was grave with worry. "I cast a cure-three spell on him, but he hasn't woken up."

"I got his things here," said Barret, gesturing toward the pile of cartons he had brought with him. "D'you think he'll have anything that'll help?"

"Not likely," Vincent said. "I've examined him. The spell is working, but very slowly."

"How'd you get his stuff?" Cid asked Barret.

"He called me a week ago while I was in Kalm. Asked me to go to his place in Midgar and pack it up for him. He said he would be coming here to see us, so I brought it with me."

"Midgar," Nanaki said. "Is that where he's been all these years?"

"No."

Everyone looked at Vincent, surprised at the sureness of his answer.

"How do you know?" asked Tifa.

Vincent glanced around at his friends and decided that there was no harm in telling them now.

"Cloud and I chanced to meet nine years ago in Junon. He was abducted shortly afterward, but managed to get a message to me before he was taken. I followed his instructions.

"He knew who was after him. The ones who took him were dressed as Turks, but were far less skilled than the ones we encountered before. I tried to help him, but they caught some hostages and used them to force his surrender. I was forbidden to search for him to tell you what happened. He asked me to take the Ultima Weapon to Midgar and leave it in the hideout he kept there.

"I couldn't search for him, but I did return there periodically to see if he had gone back. I was there a week ago, and he arrived just after me. He had escaped his captor a week earlier and fought his way back."

They listened to Vincent's narrative in stunned silence.

"You-you said that Cloud knew who was after him," Reeve said at last. "Who was it?"

Vincent's eyes hardened. His hand clenched into a fist when he answered.

"It was Hojo."

"How can that be?" Cid burst out. "He died ten years ago!"

"A clone," Vincent answered. "I don't know the specifics. Cloud will likely be able to tell us more later."

Tifa had stood silent throughout Vincent's story, gripping the banister so hard her knuckles were white. She felt ill.

"Someone should stay with him until he wakes up," she said. She turned away abruptly and went back upstairs.

When they looked in on her later, they found Tifa almost feverishly cleaning the spare bedroom where they had put Cloud. They watched her from the door as she straightened the furniture and gave a few spots an extra going-over with a dust rag.

Cloud was lying on his stomach, the wounds covered by pieces of bloodstained gauze. Tifa finished her cleaning and went to the bed. She carefully changed the bandages, then pressed her hand to his forehead. Frowning, she reached for a bowl of water and a cloth on the nightstand and sponged his face carefully. After fussing with the sheet that covered him to the waist, Tifa seemed not to now what to do with herself. With an air of indecision, she sat down in a chair next to the bed and fiddled with a tattered piece of cloth hanging on the arm.

Yuffie moved toward her, but Tifa got up and went to them, twining the cloth in her hands.

"He can't wear this when he wakes up," she said hesitantly to Barret. They could see now that the ragged fabric was the remains of a shirt. "We had to cut it off him. Can you show me his things so I can get him another one?"

"Sure, said Barret. "They're downstairs with mine."

Tifa glanced over her shoulder at the bed. "Can someone stay with him?"

Yuffie nodded and went into the room, taking Vincent and the others with her. Tifa followed Barret down to the pile of boxes he had brought.

"He didn't have very much there," Barret said. He sorted out three boxes and asmall trunk. "That big crate is his swords. The next biggest one is armor, material and a bunch of potions and ethers and stuff like that. I'm not sure about that trunk, but whatever clothes and personal stuff I found are in this last box."

Moving mechanically, Tifa opened the third box. She began picking through the items, but stopped after a few moments, her hands shaking.

"You okay?"

Tifa's hands moved to cover her face in response. Barret put a big hand on her shoulder. "Now don't start that."

"Nine years," she whispered. "Trapped with that monster. I don't even want to think about what Hojo must have done to him during that time. Look at what he did to Sephiroth!" She paused for a moment, her hands dropping away from her face. "Cloud and I talked about Sephiroth once, you know. Before he left. He could have been a very good man, but Hojo had already destroyed him long before we fought him at the crater. And now Cloud…" She stopped again. "There were a lot of things that I didn't tell him. Maybe if I had, he would have stayed here and been safe."

Barret thought back to Cloud's farewell to tem as he was leaving ten years ago. "No," he said. "I think that when Cloud went away, he needed to figger out some things on his own. I don't think he would have stayed no matter what you might've said. That trip was probably as much for him as it was for Aeris. He might not 'a known it, but I think that's how it was. And anyway, he's here now." He ruffled Tifa's hair affectionately. "And he wouldn't want you to worry like this."

"You're right." Tifa wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Reaching into the box again, she pulled out some clothes. "These will do fine, I think."

"He'll probably want this stuff too." Barret reached into the box and lifted out a small bag. "Razors and stuff." He held it out to her.

Tifa took the bag and bundled it up with the clothes. Then shen stood up on her toes and gave Barret a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks," she said. Barret gave her a playful punch on the arm, and they went back upstairs.


	3. Awakening

Chapter 3

Awakening

"Are you sure we should leave them alone?" Reeve asked.

It was late in the evening and AVALANCHE, minus Tifa and Cloud, were preparing for bed.

"They'll be fine," Barret said.

"Cloud will recover soon," Vincent added.

"Shouldn't someone spell Tifa so she can get some sleep?" Yuffie asked.

Barret glanced at the closed door of Cloud's room. "No. She'll want to stay with him, just fer her own peace o' mind. Better leave 'em."

"Do you think Cloud will be able to talk to us tomorrow?" Nanaki asked Vincent. Aside from his concern, Nanaki had his own history with Hojo.

"He should be," came the answer. "But I think that it would be better not to ask. Let him talk about it when he's ready."

In Cloud's room, Tifa made up a place for herself on a divan. Cloud's back was healing nicely, and she guessed the wounds would be gone by morning.

Sitting down on a chair beside the bed, Tifa leaned back and studied her childhood friend. He had hardly changed at all since she had last seen him. Golden sunlight hair, glowing ocean-blue eyes, rock steady hands, and a quiet low voice that reminded her of breezes and rain, as radiant and reassuring as the Lifestream.

_Odd, she thought, __to look at him and see the planet. Is this what it is to see your entire world in someone? For a long time Tifa had always thought of him as the reserved boy who lived next door. Even when they had met again in Midgar, though he had changed during their separation, she could always see that boy in the warrior he had become. Was this what people who didn't know him saw? Was this what Aeris had seen when she looked at him?_

_Is the boy I knew still there? She leaned forward to smooth a few strands of unruly hair away from his face. __Or have the years and trials he's faced carried that child away forever?_

A sick wave of anger washed through her at the thought of Cloud's imprisonment. Trying not to think about it, she got up abruptly and went to turn on the radio, tuning it to a quieter station and setting the volume low. A soft piano introduction began to play as she sat down on the window seat, gazing out over the moonlit grasslands outside Nibelheim. She drew her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them as the song began.

_When he passes me by, he's a ray of light_

_Like the first drop of sun from the sky_

_And I know he's a king who deserves a queen_

_But I am not a queen_

_And he doesn't see me_

Tifa glanced at the radio. The words mirrored what had often been her own thoughts about Cloud during their fight for the planet.

_When he dances he moves me to a smile_

_And I see everything near him shine_

_There's a grace in his ways that I can't contain_

_I haven't that grace_

_Oh I haven't that grace_

Those words brought other images to mind, recollections of the two of them fighting together, the ease with which they had done it, the smiles and teasing glances, so that battles sometimes seemed like flirtatious dances

_And the closer he gets I can't help but hide_

_So ashamed of my body and voice_

_There are boundaries we pass in spite of the war_

_But out own we can't seem to cross_

She had tried before he had gone, they both had, to talk about things, to make them clear, Sephiroth, Aeris, themselves. But while they had managed to come to an understanding about some issues, Cloud had left with many things unsaid.

_She has a way that surrounds her so delicate_

_With a glory that reigns in her life_

_She is also so much that she is not_

_These things I can't see_

_Because he doesn't see me_

Aeris had had a sort of delicate air about her. And certainly being the last of the Cetra had given her a kind of distinction. Tifa had been unable to stop herself from being a little jealous of the flower girl, especially with her closeness to Cloud. But once they had gotten to know each other a little better, Tifa had liked her a lot. If they could have met under circumstances, she knew she would have loved to have a friend like Aeris. They had talked once, away from the others, and Tifa had learned that while Aeris did indeed have special powers and was much sought after because of them, she herself really only wanted to be a simple girl with a normal life.

_There are things we can change if we just choose to fight_

_But the walls of injustice are high_

Together they had saved the world, but inside, Tifa still railed against the unfairness of it all, that Aeris and Jesse and so many others had had to give their lives thanklessly and that those of AVALANCHE who remained had had to sacrifice so much.

_When he passes me by he's a ray of light_

_Like the first drop of sum from the sky_

_And I know he's a king who deserves a queen_

_Someone other than me_

_So different from me_

The song drew to its close and another began.

_I see a shadow every day and night_

_I walk a hundred streets of neon lights_

_Only when I'm crying_

_Oh can you hear me crying_

Tifa wondered when the radio station had hired a mind-reading deejay. The words of the second song put her in mind thoughts of the ghosts that had clung to her through the years of Cloud's absence, ghosts of what might have been. She had tried to remain cheerful and optimistic, but that shadow never left her.

_So many times you always wanted more_

_Chasing illusions that you're longing for_

_Wish I wasn't crying_

_Oh can you hear me crying_

Cloud had left Nibelheim the first time because he had wanted more; to see more, to _be_ more. Neither of them had any inkling of what lay behind the SOLDIER façade. All she had known then was that he was going, and that he probably felt no one but his mother would miss him.

_There's an ocean between us_

_You know where to find me_

_You reach out and touch me_

_I feel you in my own heart_

_More than a lifetime_

_Still goes on forever_

_Bout it helps to remember_

_You're only an ocean away_

Tifa had known a certain desperation the night he told her that he was leaving for Midgar. Sitting at the well in the middle of town, they were as close and as far apart as they had ever been. Summer had been fading away, and she had heard earlier that day that the first of the year's new snow had fallen atop the peaks of Mount Nibel. She had been imagining what the first snowflakes looked like when she had gone to meet him. Once he had told her of his eminent departure, she had seen them in her mind's eyes again, falling into her hand and vanishing just as she touched them. As Cloud was right then. Realizing that, she had demanded the promise of him as a way of binding him to her.

_What there a moment when I felt no pain_

_I want to feel it in my life again_

_Let it be over now_

_Oh over now_

That night had been the beginning of the emptiness. Things were okay at first, but after a few years, it had all been taken in a burst of flame and the slash of a sword. The hole in her life left by him was suddenly ripped wider until she had found AVALANCHE and finally, him, once more. She had hoped the emptiness would end then, but the world and the past hadn't allowed it to.

_'Cause I remember all the days and the nights_

_We used to walk the streets of neon lights_

_Oh I want you here with me_

_Oh be here with me._

Since then she had achieved every happy dream she'd had, except getting him back.

_So many times you always wanted more_

_Chasing illusion that you're longing for _

_Wish I wasn't crying_

_Oh can you hear me crying_

She had often wondered if Cloud knew the effect that his leaving would have on her, but she knew that Barret was probably right. The entire ordeal with Sephiroth and Meteor had hit Cloud harder and deeper than any of them. She understand that he needed to work things out, but it still did not stop her from wishing he had stayed or that she had gone with him.

_There's an ocean between us_

_You know where to find me_

_You reach out and touch me_

_I feel you in my own heart_

_More than a lifetime_

_It seems like forever_

_But it helps to remember_

_You're only an ocean away_

But he had come back, after all. He was with them again and things would be fine. Looking at him lying asleep, she felt again the nervousness of the well, but hoped that would soon change.

She got up to check on him one more time, smoothed his hair again, then settled down on the divan to sleep.

Coming to wakefulness was like rising gently to the surface of deep water. He floated on the edge of consciousness, slowly becoming aware of cool air moving over his back and the flowery scent of the unfamiliar mattress beneath him. The scent was familiar, but his groggy mind did not at first recognize it.

Cloud opened his eyes cautiously. Darkness was just beginning to lift, pale light spreading through the window, turning everything a watery grey. He carefully turned onto his side and sat up, gazing around the room in confusion for several moments before the previous day's events recalled themselves to him. His back felt fine, and he guessed that someone had used a cure spell on him to mend the injury. Still unsure of where he was, Cloud gathered the bed sheet around his shoulders and got up, padding softly to the window to look out.

It was the silent, mystical time between night and morning, no longer the one, but not yet the other. Outside he saw a slight mist veiling the wide grassy plains he had known in his youth, shimmering slightly with dew in the half-light.

_Mom's favorite time of day, he thought. As a boy, he would sometimes rise early to find her sitting outside, gazing at the fields as he was now, enjoying the quiet and solitude. There had been a song she had sung sometimes when he came out to join her, some ancient Cetra poem his archaeologist father had taught his music teacher wife that she had set to a melody of her own making. He remembered her explaining the foreign words to his younger self:_

_It's so nice here_

_Look, over there in the distance_

_A river is sparkling with fire_

_Meadows stretch out like multicolored carpet_

_And clouds are white_

_There are no people here…_

_There is silence…_

_There is only God and I_

_There are flowers and_

_An old pine_

_And you, the soul of my dream!_

She had sung like an opera singer, though few people in Nibelheim had known that. There had been a violinist on the boat he had caught from Mideel. Cloud hadn't heard any music during his captivity, and the musician's playing had seemed like a song from heaven. After nine years, being outside was like rediscovering the world. If it weren't for the fact that he knew what it was like to have his memory rewritten, he would have wondered how it was possible to forget what so many things were like.

There was a radio playing very softly in the room somewhere, and the soprano's words drifted to him. He sat very still, listening

_And so many things I'd forgotten_

_In world that we shared_

_With so many things for the asking_

_Never asked for the madness there.___

_Strange how I find myself so often on a distant shore_

_There's only one thing that's confusing_

_Was it you, was it me?_

_With so many questions unanswered_

_Or was that part of your mystery_

_Strange how I find myself so often on a distant shore_

_How I find myself so often on a distant shore._

How like his mother's voice it was, and how fitting to his mood. In this place at this time, it was almost like being near her again, hearing her repeating his thoughts. She'd always had the uncanny ability to know what he was thinking by looking at him. He felt a pang of emptiness.

There was a soft rustling sound from the other side of the room. His eyes snapped away from the window to land on a divan against the far wall that he had not noticed earlier. Peeking out of a pile of blankets on top of it was a head of long brown hair. Cloud's heart skipped.

Tifa turned over in her sleep, her heart-shaped face partly obscured by her long hair. Cloud suddenly found that he could not move, so caught was he by the sight of her. Since he had left ten years ago, he had imagined her, dreamed of her, carefully archived every memory of her in the library of his mind. That had been the only thing that had kept him alive on many occasions. And now that he was looking at her again, she was even more beautiful.

She stirred and her eyes blinked open. Warm burgundy rose to meet radiant blue, and she was on her feet and running toward him.

The embrace was so hard and heartfelt that neither of them could speak for several moments. Tifa buried her face in his shoulder while he stroked her hair, and when she finally pulled back slightly, the sheet was wet where her head had been resting. Her hands rose to cup his face as she spoke.

"You're back, you're finally back," she whispered.

He nodded, and on his face bloomed the first true smile that anyone had seen on it in years. "It's wonderful to see you, Ti. You look incredible."

Tifa blushed slightly at the compliment, realizing that she was only wearing a tank top and pajama pants, but his use of the nickname warmed her, and she clasped him close again.

"Is your back okay?" she asked.

"It's fine."

They stood that way for several more minutes before releasing each other again.

"I brought up some of your things," said Tifa. "Barret brought all your stuff from Midgar with him. They're over there by the bed if you want to get cleaned up. The bathroom's the door next to this room."

"Thanks." Cloud then did something he had never done before and placed a lingering kiss on her cheek before pulling away reluctantly to take the clothes and head for the bathroom.

Once he was out of the room, Tifa touched her cheek where he had kissed her and beamed. She then performed an exuberant cartwheel as she bounced across the room to clear up the bed and divan.


	4. Author's Notes on Music

I devised my own soundtrack for this story, made up of both Final Fantasy 7 music and things from other albums in order to help me set the proper atmospheres for this story. Parts of the story, such as Chapter 3, are in fact written in song fiction format, so I will included a list of the pieces used, the artist, and the album title if available if any readers would like to hear anything that I used. As I add new chapters, I will add to the list the pieces used for that segment. If you have any questions, like what was used at what part of a chapter or anything of that sort, I'd love to hear from you. Any reviews are welcome, and many thanks to my previous reviewers on this story for your encouragement.

Chapter One: Return

_Final Fantasy 7 Overworld Theme (Symphonic)-Nobuo Uematsu_

_Turk Theme-Nobuo Uematsu, Final Fantasy 7 Original Soundtrack_

_Cosmo Canyon-Nobuo Uematsu,Final Fantasy 7 Original Sountrack_

Chapter Two: Meeting Again

_Barret's Theme-Nobuo Uematsu, Final Fantasy 7 Original Sountrack_

_Battle-Nobuo Uematsu, Final Fantasy 7 Original Sountrack_

Chapter 3: Awakening

_He Doesn't See Me-Sarah Brightman, La Luna_

_Only An Ocean Away-Sarah Brightman, Eden___

_Serenade-Sarah Brightman, La Luna_

_How Fair This Place-Sarah Brightman, La Luna_

_So Many Things-Sarah Brightman, Eden_


End file.
